Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 10, 1993 TAG: 9303100057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
RICHMOND COACH RESIGNS TARRANT RELINQUISHES REINS AFTER 12 YEARS WITH SPIDERS
Dick Tarrant, architect of the biggest upset in the modern history of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, retired Tuesday."For us to achieve the level we did was beyond my fondest dreams," Tarrant said of his 12 years as coach of the Richmond Spiders.
Tarrant, 62, announced his decision at a news conference on the campus of the 2,850-student school that he transformed into the giant-killer of college basketball.
"We just fell into it," he said. "Because we're such a small school, they always wanted to pair us as the 15th or 16th seed when we went to the nationals, and they would match us up with the top-rated teams in the nation.
"And that set the stage for some memorable games."
One of those came on March 14, 1991, in the first round of the NCAA East Regional at College Park, Md. The unranked Spiders never trailed on the way to a 73-69 victory over seventh-ranked Syracuse.
It marked the first and only time that a 15th seed defeated a second seed since the NCAA Tournament was expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
"We were lucky," Tarrant said, "because Syracuse was the type of team that pretty much let you do what you wanted."
In the Spiders' case, that was to repeatedly work the shot clock until their opponent had a defensive lapse and to play tough defense and avoid turnovers.
Syracuse wasn't the only team to fall victim to the formula.
Richmond used it to defeat an Auburn team that featured Charles Barkley and Chuck Person in the 1984 NCAA Tournament.
It also worked in the 1988 tournament in Hartford, Conn., where Richmond ousted defending NCAA champion Indiana, and the Spiders did the same thing two days later to Georgia Tech.
After his team lost, Indiana coach Bobby Knight said it was time Tarrant was recognized as one of the nation's best coaches.
"He was a good coach before I ever got into the business," Knight said.
Tarrant, who played for Vince Lombardi at Fordham, coached at high schools and ran a scouting service in New Jersey before coming to Richmond as an assistant in 1978.
When Lou Goetz resigned in 1981, Tarrant, with no collegiate head coaching experience, got the job.
He became the Spiders' winningest coach ever, compiling a 239-126 record, and led Richmond to its only five NCAA Tournament appearances and its only four berths in the National Invitation Tournament.
"I was tired this year, and I just decided it was time to do something else if I can't be 100 percent effective," Tarrant said. "There are other fires burning within, so you're not going to see me retire to a rocking chair in Florida."
Tarrant said he would like to remain involved in basketball, but not as a coach.
Athletic director Chuck Boone said he had begun the search for a new coach.
Tarrant has recommended his top assistant, Bill Dooley, for the job. Dooley, 33, played at Richmond and has been an assistant for 11 years.